Day 163: 24-Update Friday ( # 7 )

Here is it, the last 24-Update of 2010.

Yes, it is once again time for 24-Update Friday, my biweekly attempt to squeeze into the like-new size-24 jeans, which have taunted me for years from the back of my closet.

I've been tracking, these last three months, my weight loss progress measured against these old (though like-new) jeans. They are light tan, perfect for summer wear, but as I stated months ago, I'm wearing them whenever I happen to fit into them properly.

To review:
My first attempt to try on my old size-24 jeans was on October 7, 2010, the unofficial 24-Update # 1.

The jeans were, literally, a second skin on me, and couldn't be zipped, never mind buttoned. My panties were substituting for jean material across my abs. Not exactly the look I was going for, you know? I could move, but only in a weird little half shuffle, because I had no leg movement (or feeling, for that matter). Hey, I was at least celebrating I could get them over my thighs, even if just barely.  I actually thought at one point I'd have to be CUT out of the jeans.  Pretty funny, looking back on it now, for those who care to read it in archives.

It was Sharon who suggested I may want to try on the jeans periodically, as I continued to lose weight.  What a great idea!  That is how the 24-Update (short for size 24 jeans update) was officially born. (Thanks, Sharon!) I would recommend this to EVERYBODY. We sometimes overlook our progress, and looking back makes me appreciate the progress I've made thus far.

Update # 2 saw me get the jeans over my legs with ease. It took only two weeks to go from second-skin to comfortable on my legs. I was thrilled with that! They weren't baggy, but also not a second skin. The progress wasn't so great above the thighs though. The jeans were so tight on the hips, and the button and buttonhole had a good 4" gap between them, maybe a little more. I still relied on the "panty panel" making up the gap of the gaping front.

Update # 3 was on November 5, almost a month after my first attempt to wear the old size-24 jeans. The legs were no longer an issue. The hips remained tight, but the distance between the button / hole had gone down to about a 3" gap, while the zipper still was not remotely close to closing. The two zipper halves, however, could at least "see each other now, from a distance."

Update # 4 saw the zipper go up about 1/4 of the way - and boy, was I excited about that! The button / hole had about 2.5" left to meet, but the gap was definitely shrinking. If I worked hard (HARD), I could barely just get the waistband fabric to touch - not buttoned, definitely not zipped, but edging closer.

Update # 5, major progress (albeit for only about 30 seconds). I zipped and buttoned the jeans! I couldn't breathe, and had to do a LOT of sucking-it-up. In fact, I struggled for several minutes, but I managed it. I couldn't bend or move, but I was elated! The jeans, across the abs and waist, were like a super-tight second skin, and my biggest fear was for the middle of the zipper, and the screaming button, that was just dying to fling itself off and imbed into the wall opposite me. Looking back, I think "my poor internal organs." The zippered moment lasted all of 30 seconds, for fear I'd split the zipper (literally). I actually had no business forcing it to that extreme, and am lucky I didn't ruin the jeans.

Update # 6 was mid-December. The waist buttoned easily, with just a minor sucking-in of the stomach. Like the legs, the waist was no longer an issue. Now, it was all about the hips and abs. I didn't push the zipper, after the previous attempt, but it was good for about 1/2 of the way. I was hoping I could "easily zipper up" the old 24s by Update # 7 ...

So?

Update # 7:

The leg material is comfortably loose, and the old 24s fit perfectly on the legs.

The waist - buttoned with ease. I didn't even have to suck in the tummy!

The hips / abs ... remain my nemesis. But yes, even there I saw progress. I sucked in my tummy, just a little, and could zipper up without too much thought.

Today, I could (for the first time) actually wear the jeans if I needed to, as long as I remained standing. They were too tight across the abs/hips area, and the fabric pulled there, but wearing a shirt untucked would take care of hiding that. I could walk around with ease and not a thought in the world about the jeans, but I wouldn't try sitting in them just yet. I'm so close!!

I went out earlier this week, and bought a new size 24 jeans. These old 24s (above) are truly old, by more than 15 years. The sizing of 24 back then, versus today's vanity-sizing, is quite a bit different. I tried on the new (black) size 24s, and

THEY FIT !!!!

They are not too loose, or too tight, but just right.

So, perhaps the old 24s are like today's 22s? I don't know, but I will continue into 2011 with my 24-Updates, on a biweekly, Friday, basis. I hope I will be comfortably wearing them by Valentine's Day! It really won't be long. I have to get rid of the stomach pooch (you know what I'm talking about) ... and since I'll be starting routine and regular exercise next week (walking?), I hope my pooch will shrink like crazy in January, allowing me to get into the old 24 jeans soon. Time will tell.

I'm so very close ...

The old 24s - light tan in color - have a month or so to go (at my current pace).  The new 24s, however, fit right now!   (They are black.)  What a GREAT ending to a fabulous second half of 2010!

My next post needs to focus on my goals for the new year.  Have you started thinking about 2011?  What goals and / or resolutions do you have for 2011?